Trailblazer O’Ree finally gets Hall call
It took far too long, but Willie O’Ree is finally getting the grand enshrinement he deserves.
Sixty years after he broke the NHL’s color barrier, O’Ree was finally selected for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday, joining the Hall in the Builder category. O’Ree has worked with the NHL since 1998 as director of youth development and diversity ambassador as part of its Hockey is for Everyone initiative.
“This honor would not be possible if I had not rejoined the league in 1996,” O’Ree said in a release. “I was given a second wind to give back to the game and I am honored to be recognized.”
The honor is long overdue for the 82-year-old O’Ree, who made his NHL debut with the Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958, not realizing until reading a newspaper the following morning that he was the first black player in NHL history. O’Ree spent most of his 21-year playing career with the Los Angeles Blades and the San Diego Gulls of the old Western Hockey League.
The pioneer from Fredericton, New Brunswick, made it to the NHL despite being nearly completely blind in his right eye, caused by a slap shot when he was playing in junior hockey. He played two games in the 1957-58 season and 43 more in 1960-61 while receiving racial abuse from fans in certain cities. There wouldn’t be another black player in the NHL until 1974 when Mike Marson played for the Capitals.